I woke up this morning, to the sound of quiet DISTANT chanting....someone has died , down one of the side alley's (I know it sounds like a lot of dying goes on around here, but they live in big extended families, so there are a lot of elderly people, living in the alley's )

When I went downstairs , heading out for my morning coffee, I walked into a fracas....A German couple are shouting at my guesthouse family....because of the German accent, & the loud, angry talk, ( why do people think that talking LOUDER will solve the problem of communication with people who dont speak your language?), they were having trouble understanding what the problem was....Poppa looked at me helplessly, so I stepped in to help...

They were complaining about the chanting, & the earlier noise of tinkling bells & gongs....they wanted Poppa to go & tell the mourners to shut up!OMG...God forbid that cultural traditions should interfere with a tourist's holiday...PFFT!

I informed them that nobody had suddenly decided that chanting, tinkling, & banging gongs would be a fun thing to do, in the middle of the night....that there had been a DEATH!But, they were of the opinion that as there were guesthouses, there should be rules around noise...sheesh (idiots!)

They were not best pleased when I pointed out that if they were intent on budget accommodation, then they should accept that local life would continue around them...otherwise pay to stay in an upmarket area, in a flash hotel....

I also said that many people paid thousands of dollars, in places in Bali & Thailand, to go to spiritual retreats where they experienced exactly what these fools were getting for free...LMAO

They were still unhappy, but started to accept that nothing could be done (although they did blanch, when I told them it would go on for 3 days...LOL) I advised they go purchase some earplugs !I refrained from telling them that they should thank their lucky stars that it was a relatively quiet Buddhist funeral, & not the brass band, karaoke type...LMAO

I dont understand the problem, myself...I find nothing more soothing, than drifting off to sleep, to the sound of chanting monks & the tinkling of tiny bells...